Spellbound (Gotham City SI)
by TheOtherAnt
Summary: The story of a man who wakes up in the body of the Gotham City version of himself and his trials and tribulations as he tries to survive the madness and danger of Gotham while trying to get back home.
1. Chapter 1

I hate Gotham City.

I really, really, hate Gotham City. No, hate isn't a strong enough word. I loathe and, detest this shithole. Just breathing the air of this horrid place fills me with disgust and revulsion. If there were a way to destroy this city without killing people, or rendering them homeless, I would do it in a heartbeat.

I remember watching Batman Begins and thinking of how stupid the League of Shadows was to destroy Gotham when they could have enacted real social change to better it after having infiltrated the place so thoroughly. But let me tell you as a person who has lived here for almost a year now, that they had the right idea.

This place is beyond saving. It's continued existence will do nothing but continue to breed corruption, suffering, and madness to everyone who lives here. I firmly believe that even if you put the most well meaning, professional, and empathetic people in all administration positions of Gotham, it still wouldn't change. If anything the people you put in charge would change for the worse.

I hate Gotham for a lot of reasons. The weather sucks, their cops make the ones from back home look like paragons of civility, everyone who lives here who isn't crazy is a selfish jerk that would put a pissed off New Yorker to shame, and don't even get me started about their pizza.

But the reason I hate Gotham at this particular moment is how dark this place is at night, and of course my neighborhood decided to have another black out on tonight of all nights. Thanks to Gotham's weird weather of constant cloudy nights and fog, even the moon at its brightest can barely illuminate anything here so at night it gets DARK.

I shiver as the wind shifts and get closer to the wall while walking for what little protection it gives. The streets are completely empty right now and the lack of light is giving the place an eerie feeling. It's pretty easy to see why many people in the city consider the Bowery haunted. It isn't just criminals who are a superstitious and cowardly lot in this city.

Despite it's reputation, the Bowery of Gotham is mostly safe as long as you avoid certain streets during the day. The really dangerous crime areas are north of us near and around Crime Alley. Decades ago when Gotham was a major manufacturing center, this place had been a bustling network of factories, warehouses, and apartments blocks but its now largely empty and uninhabited.

It isn't completely abandoned of course. Similar to Detroit from back home, the rent is so cheap here that there are a few places that have stubbornly held on and even manged to grow a little. I had chosen to live here mostly because of how easy it is to hide. Even though Gotham's version of myself had burned his social security card and any ID he had long before I ended up in his body, I still managed to find a landlord who was willing to let me stay in their building. I just had to pay a big enough deposit, pay my rent on time, and he never asked any questions.

While my building has backup generators, the same can't be said for the rest of Bowery. One of the downsides of living here is that it even when the streetlights are working, they're old and dim. According to the Gotham tourism bureau, yes I couldn't stop laughing either; Gotham's electrical gird was actually considered an engineering marvel back when it was first built. But like everything else in Gotham, its infrastructure is now old and unreliable. Something that isn't helped by all the punks, gangsters, and joker wannabes making the system worse.

It's a common "prank" in Gotham for people to cut through electrical cables, vandalize transformers, and mess with generators. While the nicer and rich parts of Gotham have backups, the rest of the city has to deal with frequent blackouts to the point most Gothamites who work at night carry flashlights all the time.

This world's version of Bruce Wayne did what he could. He paid for alternative energy sources to be built, pushed in micro grids with backup generators to help deal with the power loss, and started upping security around all the important bits. It has helped somewhat and the people here got a bit of leg up thanks to cheap power bills.

I grimace a little as the wind really picks up all of sudden. I'm still cold despite wearing so many layers to help disguise my face. I'm wearing long johns, a sweater, two pairs of socks, thick pants, a large trench coat that is always somehow in fashion in Gotham, a scarf, earmuffs, and my trusty Fedora to hide the stupid tattoo on my forehead.

The wind is blowing hard enough that I almost miss the telltale sound of hissing and chattering from a nearby pile of garbage. I freeze completely still and very slowly take a single step back before pausing again. Satisfied that nothing is happening, I give the garbage pile a wide birth and cross the street altogether to avoid it. I look back and can just make out the shapes of several rats entering a nearby sewer grate.

Something the comics never really showed was how Gotham is absolutely infested with rats. You hear them in the walls, they sneak through the hallways of people's homes at night, you see swarms of them around garbage at night, and Gotham rats are known to attack people.

I don't know if a version of Rat Catcher exists in this world, but I'm not exaggerating when I say they attack people. It's thankfully not very often but it isn't exactly rare either. There are plenty of videos of rats swarming and climbing up people's legs and arms to bite when they feel threatened or trapped. Thankfully there have been no confirmed deaths, but knowing that rats can suddenly decide to attack in a wave of fur and teeth changes how you look at the furry little bastards.

My legs are starting to get a little sore but I can see the light of Burnley up ahead, so I force myself to keep walking instead of taking a break. Normally a little hike wouldn't have bothered me, I had to get used to walking real quick since no cab or bus services comes to the Bowery. But I had been forced to do a double shift at the diner since Juan had called in sick.

Pauli had been the perfect boss to work for in that he didn't care about my past or appearance as long as I was a good worker and cook. I had cooked him a good and more importantly cheap meal for him in his kitchen and he hired me on the spot. He can be an asshole sometimes, but my coworkers are nice enough and a legally dead person can't exactly be picky for work.

After what felt like hours, I finally feel the light and people up ahead just before I see them as I come around to the corner bus stop. With a small spring in my step I increase my speed. One of the side benefits of my power is I can literally feel the pressure or weight of light around me. Even with my eyes closed I can tell exactly what kind of light is in the area and what it is hitting, which gives me a bit of a six sense. The range isn't that great, and I can't get fine details but its still pretty cool.

It's thanks to that sense that I can feel the people waiting at the bus start to turn around to look at me as I pass them by since I had come from the direction of the Bowery. I could tell from their body language that they were a bit glad that I had kept walking. There were plenty of rumors in Gotham about strange and dangerous things there.

It's a fact of life in Gotham, that very few people who live here ever really feel truly safe or comfortable. There is just a built up energy in the air that you can feel walking down the street that makes you guarded when you're by yourself. I used to think it was just because I'm stuck here that I feel that way, but the longer I live here the more I realize it is not by any means unique to me.

There is a weird phenomenon I've noticed where people almost instinctively herd together in Gotham. Be it on the sidewalk, the bus, or the subway, people prefer to bunch up rather than spread out. Unless you look like threatening or dangerous, complete strangers will come to sit next to you or each other rather than sit alone.

I check my watch to make sure I'm on schedule. Satisfied, I enter a nearby alcove to better escape the wind while I wait for my cab.

At times like this I really wish I had a cellphone to distract me from my thoughts but it's too easy to track and I remember that sonar trick in The Dark Knight. I have no idea if this Batman has access to that type of technology but better safe than sorry.

Despite myself, my mind starts to drift a bit and I try to force away the butterflies in my stomach about what I'm about to do. I've never committed a crime in my life, and I grew up with an ex-con for a father who made sure that I wouldn't repeat the same mistakes he did. He'd probably kick my ass if he found out what I was planning to do.

No, that isn't true. Dad would probably give me a hug and try to warn me against doing this. Especially with what will happen if I get caught.

The Joseph Billings of this world has a long history of criminal acts, and a past diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. Now that I've become a Meta human, they'll probably send me to Arkham if I get caught. Even if I am completely rational and sane, there is no telling how long I'd be stuck in there. There is no Great White Shark in this reality and I have no interest in taking his place. That is of course assuming that the cops involved in my shooting don't arrange an accident while I'm in custody.

If I'm careful and lucky, no one will even realize a crime has even been committed. Worse case scenario I have to start using my power, which will ensure Batman investigating. In every story and universe, Batman is always drawn to unusual crimes. I have no illusions about escaping from him and I remember the warning from that thing I made a deal with about what will happen if I try to tell him or anyone else about my Meta knowledge of this world.

Right on time my cab came down the street to pick me up and I took out my flashlight to make sure he didn't miss me. I had splurged to get the brightest model of flashlight available since my power works well with the more light there is. Mostly to let out a bit of my nervousness, I feel out the beam of the flashlight as I hold it up and push out some of the energy I've stored into it which allows me to project the beam right toward the cab for a brief cabby spots it and slows down to park.

The cab is one of the cheap older models that the people in Gotham favor. This city is a bit obsessed with the glories and perceived golden time of the past. While most people are forced to drive used models by necessity, even the rich buy newer cars that are modeled to look like old time classics.

My cab driver is a heavyset man wearing a Gotham Rogues cap and smoking a large cigar. The red glow of his cigar casts his face in a dark light but he is revealed to be a normal man with graying hair when he steps out of the cab carrying a large lantern. He has the same weathered look on his face that most people who have lived in here for a while tend to get before too long.

He gives me a weird look as I get in the back seat but doesn't say anything while he loads up my bag into the trunk. Most people in Gotham survive the crazies by keeping their heads down and avoiding trouble. Meta humans are rare in this world and almost all of the ones in Gotham are criminals, which means he probably won't talk if questioned by the authorities just in case I'm one of the nasty ones. The Gotham PD has improved under Gordon, but no one really trusts the police to help them. Much less keep them safe.

I take my gloves off to rub my hands together to get some feeling back into them and bask in the blessed, blessed, warmth of the heater. It was no wonder Freeze chose to live here if it was this cold in autumn. I'm dreading the coming winter.

"Where to?" the cabby asked in a very raspy voice that told me he'd been smoking those cigars for quite a while.

"Powers hotel. Don't take the tunnel," I muffle out of my scarf.

He nodded in the rear view mirror and we were off with the cab's high beams piercing the darkness. The gentle rumbling of the car and my toes getting warm helped me to relax a little. If I wasn't dirt poor, I think I could get use to taking a cab more often to get around. Anything was better that being forced to ride and endure that parade of freaks and weirdos that rode the bus line in this city.

It really was nice to be able to sit alone with no one invading my personal space to sit near me. The only time I've ever appreciated the stupid Tattoo I'm stuck with on my forehead, is that it keeps people from crowding near me. I didn't even mind the driver smoking though there actually aren't any anti smoking ordinances in Gotham.

Thanks to the veil keeping me ignorant of anything not related to this dumpster fire of a city, I'm not sure how it is in the rest of the country, but all the no smoking stuff never passed here. You've got a few more family friendly places having no smoking rules to attract customers but those places aren't the norm. This place is way too conservative for that. I remember telling Danny about other cities banning Trans Fats to be healthier, and he had nearly laughed his ass off at the thought.

In no time at all the cab starts to park. I thanked the driver and gave him a decent tip of my limited cash since he hadn't tried to pull the old credit card machine was broken trick like most of the other cab drivers I've known all my life. One of the bellboys came to get my bag for me as I got out to stare at the building.

The Powers hotel is an old building and considered a historical protected site by the city. It was built when Gotham was in the art deco era and is so old it even still has a landing pad for zeppelins on the roof. Despite the Bio shock vibe, it still has that touch of Gotham Gothic. I can feel through the spotlights pointed everywhere that it's covered in pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses. Though weirdly they don't have any of the telltale Gotham gargoyles on the corners or on the roof.

Instead they had ancient and robed warriors with bird heads everywhere which was a little strange too me. But I ignored it and rushed passed the doorman to escape the cold.

The inside of the hotel was pretty nice with marble columns and stone carved statues surrounding a fancy fountain in the foyer. The floor had been recently shined, and all the employees were fancily dressed. A live pianist was playing something relaxing in the hotel lounge where people were sipping drinks. I knew I had come to the right place because there were paintings adorning all the walls. The Power's family was well known for being art collectors and while the paintings here on the ground floor were expensive, the real treasures were in their penthouse.

I was a bit surprised at how packed and lively the place was, with a decent line of people to the front desk. It was not cheap to spend even a single night here and Gotham was in the middle of a depression. Maybe there was a convention in town.

I took a seat near a small group somewhat near the door to wait for the line to die down. I wanted as few witnesses as possible just in case my crime was discovered. Thankfully no one noticed or seemed to care that I hadn't taken off my coat or hat. I pulled out a faded paperback to look busy reading and tried to look nonchalant while keeping a close eye around me. I was really on edge and I hadn't even done anything yet.

A large group of similarly dressed people at the lounge caught my eye while I waited and I discreetly modified the light to magnified the scene in front of me to get a better look.

It was obvious that the man in the center was someone important. His face was smug and confident, with bright eyes and a neatly trimmed mustache above his grin of perfect teeth. He was slouching back in his chair, while flirting with the waitress giving him his drink. He pinched her ass with a hand covered in gold rings and I made note of the fact that the girl smiled at him a little nervously.

There was a group of five or six men sitting around me that were laughing at a joke he had made. They all were dressed alike with greased up hair, gold watches, and prominent bulges of guns in their jackets. Except for one guy in a black hat who remained standing at attention, with his eyes alert and roaming around.

I didn't recognize him though admittedly I didn't really have an encyclopedic knowledge of Batman comics. I knew the mob was still a powerful thing here though they were losing ground to the freaks according to Danny. But beyond that I knew nothing about the mob besides the more famous ones. I didn't know much about the state of criminals in Gotham except that Black Mask was the biggest boss right now and was busy fending off several rivals who were getting bolder after a few recent setbacks to the Bat.

I waited until crowd thinned just a bit more before picking up my bag and getting in line before it got long again. I took the photo I had specially prepared and put it in my hand. I glanced at my watch again and took a deep breath while feeling my heart beating like crazy in my chest.

A squeal behind me made me a jump a little and I turned around panicked to glare at a young couple that was engaging in some major PDA with the man necking the woman who let out another squeal. I wasn't the only one who was staring, as the man was getting a little grabby with her ass.

Normally I wouldn't have cared. The more PDA they showed, the easier it was to hopefully distract everyone from me. But there was something very familiar about the man's face that I couldn't quite place. Looking closer at him I know I've seen him before.

He looked normal enough with a narrow face, high cheekbones, and a pointed chin. His had thinly plucked eyebrows shaped into a perfect arch above his baby blue eyes. He looked thin on first glance but a closer look showed a deceptively lean build with well-toned arm and leg muscles.

His hair was shaved to a very close buzz that helped bring out the sharp features of his face. He moved with short almost wild strides as he openly groped the woman's bust. They were making a scene but the man didn't care. He only had eyes for the woman and I swear he all but licked his lips with a hungry look on his face that was just a little odd to be honest.

After a few minutes it was finally my turn in line and I ignored the perverts behind me to get started. I had practiced in the mirror for hours to get the face right. I held the photo up to the light and projected the photo onto my face as I took off my scarf.

My power allows me to absorb light for energy and than push that energy back into the light around me to manipulate it. While I love my ability, it is not particularly powerful. I can't solidify light to make force fields or fly like other light users I remember from the comics.

Instead, my main focus is using light to make illusions and even then it is limited in that I can't make something from nothing. Instead I usually simply transfer the image of a nearby object, and project it onto another location. It's sort of like seeing a mirage.

Normally I can't do much with a photo since it's only a two dimensional image. Projecting it on my face would just give me a single static face that couldn't move. But I had been practicing animating it and while I couldn't do much, it was still good enough to pass as a real face.

Maybe. Hopefully.

"Good evening sir, do you have a reservation?"

"Yes, one suite for the night." I tried to speak bluntly and with obvious irritation as I gave her the fake ID to help complete the illusion. "It should be under Francis Boyle."

As far as I could tell, the Francis Boyle of this world had not been directly involved with creating this world's version of Mr. Freeze. The Mr. Freeze of this world is a crazy bastard and has never worked for him or anyone else. But Francis is still a rich corporate asshole and pretty shady from what I was able to dig up on him.

Thankfully he didn't practice good computer security, and I didn't feel bad about stealing his credit card number. He splurged enough on fancy hotels for hookups with that he should never notice one night here.

"Of course sir," the woman said while giving me a friendly smile while fiddling on the computer. But a moment later, her eyes tightened and there was a small change in her body language that I knew very well. I had seen it more than once while working at the diner when you make a mistake with a customer. Something was wrong.

"I apologize Mr. Boyle, but there was an unfortunate problem with your preferred room," she replied.

"What problem?" I growled. I was lucky that irritated asshole seemed to be Francis's default facial expression.

"I'm afraid that there is a plumbing issue and we are going to be unable to have your room ready in time."

"That is unacceptable. I paid for that room."

"Yes sir, and we do apologize, but we can give you one exactly the same…"

"When will my RESERVED room be ready then?" I interrupted.

"I apologize sir, but we won't be able to get a plumber to come by until tomorrow afternoon. But as I was saying, we have one another suite prepared you can use."

"Where exactly is this room? I wanted a nice view of the harbor."

"Just give me a moment to see what is available," she said while looking on her computer.

Shit. Shit. Shit. What am I going to do? I had chosen that room because I could easily climb up from my window to the Power's penthouse on the top floor. I had scoped it out from across the street and the Powers never close it all the way.

"I've found a room located at the same corner one floor down," she assured me turning the computer to show me a map of the floor plan. "You will still have a great view I promise."

"I suppose that will have to do," I snapped as she prepared my key.

Okay this can still work. All I have to do is climb up from two balconies instead of one. I had rope and I had been practicing climbing rope and tying knots until I had been comfortable attempting to pull this off. I can totally climb up two balconies without falling to my death. The woman gave me key, and I had scowled again before taking my bag to head for the elevators.

I had headed for the ones on the left before stopping when I saw Mr. mobster surrounded by his goon squad heading to the same ones. Not wanting to get near him, I had turned back and passed past the front desk to get to the other set of elevators on the right side of the hotel.

Looking back at it now, I've always wondered what my life would have been like if I hadn't heard that bastard's name walking by. Would have I stolen the painting and left with no one the wiser? Or would the same sequence of terrors and disaster have been the same?

I heard the woman at the front desk say that name and turned around in shock to stare as the couple from earlier as the man smiled that hungry smile of his, not once taking his eyes off the woman in his arms.

"Here is your room key, Mr. Zsasz."

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Decided to start posting another fic I've been working on in addition to Seed. I wanted to try my hand at writing a SI. I'm trying to go with quicker and smaller updates of 4 to 6k words so I can update a bit more. I've learned alot from writing Seed so I wanted to put a few of those lessons to the test. Hopefully I can make things at least a little entertaining.


	2. Chapter 2

Spellbound 1-2

For a moment I'm paralyzed, unsure of what I should do. All I do is stand around as Zsasz and the young woman he is with turn and head toward the elevators on the opposite side of the hall.

I finally force myself to move to catch up and keep him in sight, at least until I can come up with a plan of what to do. I realize very quickly that I'm going to have to ride the same elevator as Zsasz so I don't lose him.

Okay, lets think about this for a second. It could be possible that this is not the same crazy serial killer Zsasz from the comics or that the Zsasz of this world isn't a murderer. There have been so many alterations, reimagining's, reboots, and self-contained stories of Batman over the years that I honestly have no idea what to expect from this world.

I was used to Mr. Freeze being a tragic figure who only wanted to help his wife for example. I was a bit surprised to read in the morning paper that he had killed a police officer and held a family of three as hostages to get away. Which helped remind me that the knowledge I have of this world isn't always accurate.

But as far as I am aware, Victor Zsasz has consistently been portrayed as a murderer. Sometimes he is an assassin that works for the mob and sometimes he is just a random psycho that kills people from a demented belief that he is liberating people from a pointless existence. Either way, every time he kills someone, he carves a tally mark on his skin for each life he's taken as a grisly trophy.

The easiest and quickest way to check if he is a killer is to get him to remove his shirt to check for tally marks. Should I just tackle him and lift up his shirt? If I'm quick, I might be able to get away if I use my power to help distract people.

No, I can't make a scene where are there are so many eyes around me. The last thing I want is people realizing I'm a Meta Human because I'll be a priority for Batman and the cops. I'm already on camera. If I do attack it has to be a place where no one can see.

Zsasz and the girl haven't noticed me coming up from behind them as he pushed the button for the elevator. I can't see any tally marks on his neck because that would just be too easy, wouldn't it?

I'm lucky Zsasz and the girl are still being really touchy feely with each other without a care in the world. The girl seems normal enough and doesn't seem to be inebriated or drugged in any way. She could be acting but she at least seems to be into him. Neither of them brought any bags and she doesn't look like a call girl.

In the Arkham games, Zsasz is supposed to come from a rich background before losing it all gambling. A rich man should be able to get a date pretty easily from a certain type of woman. Then again, it could just be a normal relationship and I'm jumping to conclusions.

If Zsasz were a killer, why the hell would he bring her to a hotel? They have his face and name on file and being forced to hide the body here gives to many possibilities of being caught. But if he was a psycho he might not care about getting caught.

I still have the option of just ignoring this and walking away. I don't know for certain he is going to kill her. Just to be safe I can go steal the painting and immediately call the police once I leave the hotel.

But would the cops even believe me?

I don't exactly have a mountain of evidence and it would really just be the word of a random caller that someone he noticed in a hotel had tally marks on his skin and that they signify the number of people he's killed. Even if the cops do investigate and treat him as a suspect, it wouldn't be enough to save the girl if this Zsasz is really a killer.

The response time of the GCPD leaves a lot to be desired. The official response time is eight to ten minutes but Danny swears to me that it's really ten to fourteen depending on where you live. Batman can show up in as little as two minutes depending on where he is and how quick his plane can pick him up then drop him from the sky. But it's believed by the criminal underworld that his average response time is around four minutes.

I'm not allowed to contact Batman or Bruce Wayne, god knows I've tried, directly by whatever is keeping me here and is behind the veil. Which means it will have to be the cops I call. Figure ten minutes to get here, then five minutes to take the stairs or the elevator, and another minute to break down the door.

Let's be real then, if I do nothing and he is a killer, I would be condemning the girl he is with to death.

The elevator arrives and I use my power to quickly scope out the inside and feel a mirror and camera in the corner. Since I am confident that the cops will be looking closely at this if I do make a move against him, I take a moment to blur the light in front of the camera just as the doors opens.

I wait for Zsasz to go in first and he pushes the button for the twenty first floor. I push the button for the twenty second a little later and try to remain calm as I get in just behind and to the right of Zsasz.

I think about trying to stop him now and discard that line of thought. There is no guarantee the elevator won't stop at another floor, which will bring more witnesses and I don't have a lot of room to maneuver in here. So trying to make a move in the elevator is no go.

I'm going to be honest with myself and admit that I've already made my decision to not risk letting the girl get killed. So I have to mug him to get his shirt off. If there are no Tally marks, I run away.

Then what do you do smart guy if there are Tally marks proving he is a killer? What do you do then?

I don't mind killing him morally speaking. While I can sort of respect Batman's no killing vow, I also know that there are plenty of other villains that the city is better off with if they were dead since Arkham can't hold them and they refuse to be rehabilitated in any way. One of the big differences I've notice in this world is that there seem to be several active serial killers right now and they do some pretty sick stuff. I knew I had no chance in hell of beating the Joker but I had promised myself that if I saw the chance, I would kill him at least.

Unfortunately, my options for fighting Zsasz are really limited since my power really isn't good at direct confrontations. On a really sunny and bright day, I can make a heat beam that takes a lot out of me. But while it gives a first degree burn to people's skin and has a decent range, it won't really take someone down.

I hadn't planned on fighting anyone tonight, but I live in Gotham City so I at least have some mace and a Taser for self-defense in my coat. The Taser can launch a single probe up to fifteen feet according to the box. I'll distract him, then shoot him with it from behind and try to hit him in the head. Then take his shirt off and look for Tally marks.

If I find some, I'll have to capture him for the police to find later. Or at least incapacitate him I can call the police. I'm lucky that the brains of the people in this world are tougher than my own.

When you get knocked out, you get a neurochemical reaction in the brain that can cause cell death. Depending on how long someone is knocked out, and how severe the impact, you can really fuck someone up.

But in this world, people's brains or skulls are tougher. Concussions are not as damaging and brains aren't as damaged when they take a jolt. Football players and boxers still have their issues but that is over a lifetime of hard knocks to the head. For most people getting knocked out is not as dangerous as it would be back home. Which is why Batman can go around punching people out left and right and apparently never kills or permanently cripples anyone.

The number of floors is ticking closer and I am freaking out. I haven't been in a fight since middle school and I even lost that one. I'm not a psychopath, so I find the idea of fighting someone scary as hell.

What if he has a knife or a gun? I mean this is Gotham for crying out loud. I find people that don't carry something for self defense crazy considering the monsters and psychos here.

I'm starting to really sweat like crazy as the numbers tick ever closer and I feel a little short of breath. I'm trembling so much I can't believe neither of them has noticed me. I pat the Taser in my coat to reassure myself it is still there and size Zsasz up.

He comes up to about my height, just shy of six feet and he seems to take care of himself, with a well-muscled form. He is a mob hit man in some stories I've seen, so he might have some training or a gun.

I'll have the element of surprise but I haven't had any training to fight someone. Something I promise myself I'm going to fix if I get out of here unscathed. I had always figured my power made fighting pointless since misdirection and escaping is my specialty.

I've worked out a lot more than I used to since I got here thanks to the stupid veil keeping me from seeing anything not related to this roach motel of a city. I can now bench press three hundred pounds thank you very much. I look dangerous or crazy enough to be usually be left alone thanks to the Joe of this world getting a large and creepy eye tattoo on his forehead, but I am still pretty skinny. I doubt I'm going to scare or intimidate Zsasz.

Thinking it over, I will have to make my move in the hallway before he gets to his room. I can't pick an electronic lock and I don't have a good disguise or photo on hand. Once he is in his room, I have no real way to convince him to open his door for me.

I feel the light of the bulb above me and go through options to distract him. I finally decide on reflecting light to give the hallway a funhouse mirror like effect and change the color to mess with him. The attack from behind while camouflaged. I can't turn invisible with my power but I can bend light enough to give me something similar to Predator camouflage. It works better when I don't move and in darker environments with just a little light but it should be enough to buy me a few seconds and confuse anyone that is watching while I shoot him with the Taser. When he is on the ground, I'll club him over the head. I'll keep the mace in reserve in case he gets up or I find the tally marks.

The elevator slows to a stop and I close my eyes to examine the hallway through the lights of the bulbs covering in the ceiling. Thanks to the hallway being well lit I can tell no one seems to be watching and there are no cameras. The door to the stairs is right next to the elevator and my room is only up two more floors. My bag doesn't weigh much but I am going to exhaust myself carrying over a hundred pounds of Zsasz up two flights of stairs if he turns out to be the same Zsasz from the comics.

Please don't be the Zsasz from the comics. Please let this be a giant mistake.

I start to really hyperventilate a little as my body tenses up. I carefully put my bag over my head and make sure it's tight against my body. Then take out the Taser from my coat and put it in my palm as the doors open. I make sure the safety is on before I tighten my grip so hard I'm worried I'm going to break it, giving me a new respect for Batman for being brave enough to throw himself at people that can kill him.

I am completely laser focused on the back of Zsasz's head as they step out of the elevator. The girl is leaning against him and whispering something while giggling. I wait for them to take a few steps before I walk out and use my power to feel out the light around me until I have my outline clearly defined. Then leak out the energy from my body and bend the light around me.

Its always a little disorienting when you can't see your body clearly but I've practiced enough that it doesn't bother me as much as I get off of the elevator. A weird side effect of doing the Predator camo trick is that I suddenly feel really cold. It feels like I've suddenly stuck myself under a cold shower, which gives me a small shock and helps keep me alert. My heart is beating so loud I can't believe they haven't turned around. I feel out the light in the front of them and let my power shake it up.

To Zsasz's eyes it would have seemed as if hallway had started to twist and distort. The walls would have looked to stretch out and the nearby table would have started to bend like a Dali painting. I let the color slowly drain out of the hallway to make the place look as white as possible, giving the illusion of more space.

The girl reacts first, giving a cry of surprise and freezing in place. Zsasz looks to her in confusion before stopping while looking forward. He slowly raised his arm with his palm up, like he is trying to feel out what changed. Neither of them is looking my direction as I walk at a deliberate pace while carefully aiming.

I do not know how he knew but Zsasz seemed to sense my approach as he turned his head behind him just as I got into range with the Taser up. His eyes get as big as saucers when I fire the Taser. There is an audible pop from the charge going off with the two prongs hitting him on his arm and just below his neck.

I hear the distinctive sound of the charge going through both wires as Zsasz tenses up and falls to his knees. The girl looks down still a little fearful but I ignore her, as I move just behind Zsasz. I wind my leg back and kick his head as hard as I can while picture it as a soccer ball. He falls back into the wall dazed with the prongs of the Taser still hanging off of him as I disconnect them from the Taser and put it back into my pocket. .

I bend over his body moving as fast as I can more than a little frantic. I rip his coat and buttons off with an audible tearing sound just as the girl starts to scream beside me. Her voice is panicked and disbelieving. I ignore her and lift his shirt up and spot what I have been both dreading and hoping for.

There are at least three sets of tally marks covering the side of his stomach as clear as day.

Well that makes things both easier and harder. I give a quick glance to the girl who has backed up against the wall away from me in fear before leaning back over Zsasz who has somehow started to get up. How the hell didn't that put him down?

I can spot what looks the handle of a knife in the inside pocket of his coat and immediately start kicking and stomping like mad on his head and face. I lose count after the sixth kick and the girl starts to scream for help while running back toward the elevator.

My foot starts to actually hurt as I keep stomping over and over not taking any chance and no longer caring what damage I do. I stop as soon as I see him go limp, not bothering to check to make sure he is still breathing. I stop the twisting of the hallway and instead start it up again in the space between the girl and I.

The girl starts to scream anew as the elevator opens up again to her frantic button mashing and rushes inside. I grunt in exertion while I pick up Zsasz in a fireman's carry, not caring as his head bangs against the wall.

God damn is the bastard heavier than he looks. I groan as I start to walk toward the stairs. I can see the girl is crying in the elevator while desperately pushing the button and I feel a touch of remorse after what I made her see. But at least I made sure he would still be alive to be scared.

I kick the door to the stairs open just as the elevator doors close. I'm still hopped up on enough adrenaline that I don't start to get tired until I climb the two flights to get to my floor.

I take a moment to feel out the hallway to make sure I have no witnesses before I pull open the door while carefully balancing Zsasz on my shoulders. Just to be safe I project the empty hallway around me to hide myself from view while getting to my room. My power can't hide me completely. My shadow is still plain as day and you can usually see the flicker of movement behind my mirage, which appear in the empty hallway, but I am reasonabley sure no one will notice.

I had made sure to practice hiding using my powers in crowded places until I was confident that people would not notice me unless they were unusually observant or looking for me in the first place.

I grunt in annoyance, as I can't reach my room key in my pocket. I finally manage to get it out and insert the card into the slot until it turns green. I open the door and walk inside not even looking at the room.

I kick open the bathroom door and dump Zsasz in the tub while pulling my bag off. I had some zip ties and tape packed in case I had to take the Powers hostage if they were still home. They should have just left to go see a play or show like they did every Sunday, but I had wanted to be prepared.

I give Zsasz a careful look when he starts groaning. His face was badly bruised and bloody, and I was certain I had broken his nose. I was sure he would have been out for longer than that. I quickly fished out the zip ties from my bag and zip tied his hands behind his back and made sure that he couldn't move his legs.

Satisfied he couldn't move, I turn on the TV to Jack Ryder to help mask any noise Zsasz made. Jack Ryder is a bit of a hack and sensationalist but he is one of the few things I can still watch on TV. After I raised the volume a little, I went back to my bag and looked around for the duct tape before finally finding it and pulling it out. It was just as I am standing back up that I realize that I was still using my camouflage. In the shock of the moment I had forgotten to take it off.

I let it drop and start breathing hard, more than a little exhausted. My heart is beating in my chest and I am panting like crazy. Goddamn, that was terrifying. Batman has to be pretty crazy himself to do something like that night after night.

I give myself a minute or two to relax. My lungs fill up while I wait a little before I exhale with my eyes closed and think about what I still have to do. Mr. and Mrs. Powers should be gone for a few hours, but I need to hurry just in case. The girl is going to be calling the police if the hotel hasn't already.

The cops have no reason to open my door or question me on my whereabouts. But I am still a little paranoid after having the bad luck of Zsasz showing up on tonight of all nights. Sometimes I wonder if Gotham hates me as much as I hate it. It sure sometimes feel like this city has it out for me.

"Who are you?" a wild and shocked voice called out from behind. I freeze and nearly drop the duct tape in shock. How the hell is he conscious already?

I quickly distort the light in front of my face copying a horror movie I remembered and turn around. His face is completely flabbergasted at my appearance and his mouth is hanging open.

"What the fuck is this? Who the hell are you!?" he suddenly starts shouting. I tear open the duck tape and start walking toward him.

"What the bloody fuck are you?," his voice take on this crazy tone and he sounds more than a little pissed as I get closer.

"Answer me! Who the hell are you? What the fucking hell is this!?" he said while struggling to get free.

"A person who knows what you are and what you have done," I finally said in a level voice as I bend down in front him.

He looks more than a little stunned and starts to stay something before I punch him and gag him with the tape. I take a moment to grab a chair from the desk and prop it up against the door. That should hold him long enough for me to do what I need to do and get away.

I pull out the ropes and climbing equipment from my bag and give it a careful once over. Ever rope is slowly checked and every knot is given a tug to make sure they are tight. I open the door to the balcony and wince at both the sudden chill and the long drop to the ground.

I take one more look at the bathroom before I start to suit up. Time to get what I came for.


End file.
